Free Republic

US President Donald Trump urged Europe to cease its purchases of Russian oil on a call with European leaders at the Coalition of the Willing, Fox News reported on Thursday, citing a White House official. Additionally, Trump stressed that European leaders should increase economic pressure on China "for funding Russia's war efforts," while stressing the importance of curbing financial aid to Russia. More to come...

The Russian and Chinese leader's creepy discussion involved fantasising about organ transplants and biotechnology in order to "live to 150". In a private conversation inadvertently captured in Beijing, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping discussed the possibility of achieving "immortality" through organ transplants and advanced medical procedures. The Chinese president, with whom Putin is said to be developing closer ties with, told his Russian counterpart via a translator: "Earlier, people rarely lived to 70, but these days at 70 you are still a child." In response, Mr. Putin said: "With the development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted and...

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been overheard discussing organ transplants as a means of prolonging life on the sidelines of a military parade in Beijing. Putin suggested even eternal life could be achievable as a result of innovations in biotechnology, according to a translation of remarks caught on a hot mic. -snip- The exchange was relayed by a Mandarin translator for Putin and a Russian translator for Xi, and has been translated into English by the BBC. "In the past, it used to be rare for someone to be older than 70 and these days...

Chinese President Xi Jinping stood shoulder to shoulder with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un for the first time ever during China’s largest-ever military parade showcasing its nuclear triad. The trio of dictators stood together smiling in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Wednesday during China’s massive celebration marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat in World War II. It was a historic show of authoritarian strength and a clear message of deterrence against the United States and its allies in the region. The stunning power flex included China’s first-ever display of its full nuclear triad of...

China kicked off its largest-ever military parade on Wednesday, a show of its growing firepower and geopolitical clout as President Xi Jinping seeks to cast Beijing as the custodian of a post-U.S. international order. Flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, a smiling Xi strolled up a red carpet to take his seat for the lavish event at Tiananmen Square to mark 80 years since Japan's defeat at the end of World War Two. More than 50,000 spectators packed into stands joined a vast choir singing patriotic songs as the dignitaries took their seats on the...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday he and U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg had held a good meeting and discussed exerting pressure on Russia to hold "real talks" on ending more than three years of war, APA reports citing Reuters. "A good meeting with the special U.S. presidential envoy Keith Kellogg," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "We discussed how to exert influence on Russia, oblige them to hold real talks on ending the war ... We are ready to talk in a format with leaders. This is needed to resolve key issues." Zelenskyy said Ukraine valued the "readiness...

Russian leader Vladimir Putin cannot not sign a peace deal with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky because Moscow views him as “illegitimate,” Moscow’s top diplomat said Sunday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made the declaration in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” suggesting that Putin will not be able to make an agreement with him. Lavrov also threw up yet another roadblock to direct talks between Putin and Zelensky, saying that Russia has an “agenda” in mind that must to be agreed before the two sides can sit down together. “There is no meeting planned,” Lavrov told NBC’s “Meet the...

Award-winning US filmmaker Woody Allen will take part in Moscow International Film Week, according to the event's website. Kicking off this Saturday, the festival is expected to feature dozens of foreign participants. The event has attracted a large number of international attendees despite a wave of 'cancel culture' targeting Russian art and Western attempts to isolate the country's creative community. The director, screenwriter, and four-time Oscar winner will participate in the film week online, hosting a special session titled Legends of World Cinema. The session will be moderated by top Russian director and producer Fyodor Bondarchuk. Joining Allen as participants...

-snip- When asked about his strategy to end the war, Trump told Newsmax: "Well, there's only one strategy and it's up to Putin and I can't imagine he's too thrilled about the way it's gone because it hasn't gone exactly well for him either. "And I know he wants to meet and I'm going to meet very quickly. I would've done it sooner but...you have to get into the office. For some of the things, you do have to be there." U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz, the incoming national security adviser, said on Sunday he expected a call between Trump and...

ussia has withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in occupied Crimea, a potent acknowledgment of how Ukrainian missile and drone strikes are challenging Moscow’s hold on the peninsula. Russia has moved powerful vessels including three attack submarines and two frigates from Sevastopol to other ports in Russia and Crimea that offer better protection, according to Western officials and satellite images verified by naval experts. The Russian Defense Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. The move represents a remarkable setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose military seizure of Crimea in 2014 marked...

It was a moment of humiliation for Moscow. The headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet – a building of elegant white columns overlooking the Crimean port of Sevastopol – was ablaze. Smoke billowed into a blue sky. First one, and then a second Storm Shadow missile slammed into its roof. Video captured the impact: a precise, deadly, thunderous strike. The attack on 22 September killed 34 officers, including Viktor Sokolov, the fleet’s commander, according to Ukraine. Russia denied this, releasing footage of Sokolov, suggesting he was still alive. Whatever the truth of the admiral’s fate, the blow deep into enemy...

Ukraine breached Russia's defensive line on Wednesday and was able to deploy vehicles past it. It was a major achievement, but analysts said Russia would respond with a harsh counterattack. Even if Ukraine holds, it still has more defenses to overcome, they noted.Russia will strike hard and fast in a counterattack against Ukrainian troops who breached its main defensive line with armored vehicles this week, analysts told Insider.Ukraine took a major step forward Wednesday, seeming to push past a fierce defensive line in the southest of the country with vehicles for the first time.Ukraine breached the area near the village...

Ukrainian armoured vehicles have smashed through a gap in Russian defences on the Zaporizhzhia front, it has been reported. Eight-wheeled Stryker and tracked Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles were seen behind Russian tank traps and dragon's teeth near Verbove - suggesting a potential Ukrainian tactical breakthrough in the area. Russia analyst for The Institute for the Study of War, George Barros, said the news could mean Kyiv was preparing for another big push.

Time is running out for Ukraine. After 18 months of war, it is no longer a question of if the Western alliance will falter, but when. Since the start, despite making many of the right noises and supplying some military hardware, France and Germany, in particular, have been reluctant partners. Their leaders have often seemed more concerned with finding an “off-ramp” for Putin than ejecting his forces from Ukraine. As well as dependency on Russian energy, a pacifist instinct among Western European political classes has led to neglect of their armed forces and a corresponding fear of escalation.As the provider...

It is now clear that Ukraine’s eagerly anticipated counteroffensive has been a colossal failure.[1] After three months, the Ukrainian army has made little progress pushing back the Russians. Indeed, it has yet to get beyond the so-called “grey zone,” the heavily contested strip of land that lies in front of the first main line of Russian defenses. The New York Times reports that “In the first two weeks of the counteroffensive, as much as 20 percent of the weaponry Ukraine sent to the battlefield was damaged or destroyed, according to U.S. and European officials. The toll included some of the...

Just 38 percent of respondents "definitely" support the actions of Russia's Armed Forces in Ukraine, the survey by independent pollster Levada Center conducted late August found... The results come as Russia's 2024 presidential election looms, scheduled to be held on March 17 next year. Putin is expected to soon announce his bid for a sixth overall presidential term. Per constitutional changes made prior to the war in Ukraine, Putin may remain in power until 2036. Last month, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying that Russia's presidential election is "not really democracy" and forecasted a 90 percent victory for...

Ukrainian drones struck targets in at least six regions deep within Russia on Wednesday, including an airfield where they destroyed military transport planes, in one of the broadest volleys yet of Kyiv's campaign to turn the tables on Moscow. Russian officials described attacks on targets in the Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow regions. The Russian foreign ministry said the attacks would "not go unpunished" and could not have reached so far into Russian territory without Western help. In Pskov, in northern Russia more than 600 km (400 miles) from Ukraine, a huge fire erupted at a military airfield....

Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged Saturday to defend the country and its people from an armed rebellion declared by Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, describing the call to action as a treasonous decision that puts the country’s survival in peril. In a televised address Saturday morning, Putin said the mutiny amounted to "a deadly threat to our statehood," vowing there will be "tough actions" in response. "All those who prepared the rebellion will suffer inevitable punishment," Putin stated. "The armed forces and other government agencies have received the necessary orders." While he did not call Prigozhin out by name, he...

When Vladimir Putin takes to the stage on Tuesday to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany, his speech on Red Square will have been preceded by a turbulent week in which drones attacked the Kremlin and one of his top war leaders threatened mutiny. The dramatic footage early last Wednesday of two drones flying over the walls of the Kremlin, its historical seat of power, exposed vulnerabilities in the heart of the Russian capital, putting Moscow on edge. The authorities have banned the use of drones and started jamming GPS signals, leading to taxis appearing to be in the...

Moscow media mouthpieces often refer to history books when they talk about Russia's invasion of Ukraine but one Kremlin propagandist decided to turn to the Bible. During a monologue on Solovyov Live, host Roman Golovanov said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is among those who have used the Old Testament story of David versus Goliath as a parallel for the war in Ukraine, in which Russia is portrayed as the larger adversary. However, Golovanov said that the perennial tale of the underdog triumphing should be flipped around and that Russia "was in fact the David" because "at least 50 countries are...